THE SHOW.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3484, 27 October 1894, Page 9

THE SHOW.

THE WAIKATO AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL ASSOCIATION"S THIRD ANNUAL EXHIBITION.

" A wet winter and a backward spring naturally produced a feeling of anxiety ■-in the minds of the well-wishers of the great annual agricultural carnival of Waikato. It was very generally conceded that a slight falling off. in •■• the number of entries for this year's /; Show as compared with that of 1893 ■ was extremely probable, and we believe the Committee would have been more " than satisfied to maintain, the level of last year. Happily they were doomed ..■■;' to experience a pleasant disappointment, So far from there being a. failing off to. Record the entries show a very substantia increass. Moreover, with one or two exceptions, there is a distinct advance in the quality as well as' the number of- / entries. The total number of /horses shown was . 210, as agaiust 168 last i year, and taken as a whole the exhibits , were quite equal in excellence with those shown in 1893, In the ladies' hacks ; class alone there was a perceptible fal- t ling off, a fact which it is very difficult to account for, The roadsters were remarkably good, and called forth.repeated ,; 'expressions, of admiration from .the \ "".'' judgej and the draught horses came in \ '.for an equal share of praise, The results , of careful breeding and generous feeding were abundantly evident in both classes. The entries in the hunter class, one, of the most, popular sections in the; show, / were good, and the jumping on the whole was satisfactory, though some, of the horses were unfortunate in. the selection, of their riders. The cattle classes were also. stronger than last year, and here, .again, it is perfectly safe to say that there.was;a.great improyementan' the stock shown. -The, total number of ■: ! entries was 108, an increase of ten upon last year's number, 'There were fewer -„, Jerseys, but 7 Mr Day's new importation ''■''■• of this breed raised the standard somewhat highev even than it wasi last year. . The exhibit of fat bullocks was particu; larly meritorious,; and, in the opinion of the judge could. not well be. surpassed in any part of the colony. • In;every/ class of the sheep x division/ there ah in- . crease save in the cases of merinos and , ; . fat sheep, and in both these the falling •- / off only amounted to one'.animal.'' There '/':. were 13 additional entries in the Lincoln '' // class and. eight in the half-breds. /The Southdowns stuck .at the; miserable 'total of one, the imormous' number by which this breed has been > represented at all three shows, It may be doubted whether, under the circumstances, the committee are wise in ' ;; retaining, this class, in the catalogue withoiit, something in the: nature, of a guaranteelthat it shall be "decently represented. There ■ was' a considerable, improvement in: the /representatives-, of' the Shropshire breed, a, variety that ■ ■••seems.'to be increasing in ifavour in the . London market. Pigs were 'again but poorly;Vrepresented, but all,that were ...-.shown/were of first-class Quality.; The display; of agricultural implement,. manures, etc., was 'excellent, • >in all respects,'.though lit./ could be wished that provision were made for .showing some of the machinery, notably "■.''■ the reapers, and binders,, in 'motion;. ..-The v importance of so: doing; is not, However, so-urgent as'ifc/was:;:when ; vwlieat, was . quoted in the market- at a remunerative figure, and truth compels us to add that ;■';'. the attention of visitors was directed.less [ . to'the implements employed in /harvest.-., jng crops than to-;those more directly connected with the cultivation of the soil. Appended is a table showing the comparative'entries: for ,the three, showsi ; '.; ■ ironv which, the progress ,made may be ;,;. ■ seen in detail ir— ;: /-./' ; : /-.MI v ,;. ; '>,■/.//-,.v

The apparent serious falling off in 1893, as indicated in the above table, was explained in our last year's report; but in order to prevent misapprehension it will be convenient to point out again in this ' place that the practice of permitting a |j given exhibit to be entered in more than ( one class that obtained in the first Show, was discontinued thereafter. In point of fact, however, there was a slight falling off in some of the classes in 1893, but a glance at the table will show that the ground lost last year has been regained this,

;.Horses, . .:,-- ■v 1894 1893 1892 ... -Thoroughbreds ,..;V ;V;10^ ,6 16; Carnage Horgjs...V.. '...Vl9'»: 24 43 Roadsters... ..... V..Vv ...140 112 159; ; Draughts ...< •/'...\..V ;.;.;:4i;;: .26 .48'.; ■■';■ Totals :....,-. r .M\ V 16S; 256 ■, '.'.. V ; Cattle. ■ .;.-.V'' Shorthorns , ... ... : : ; 21 : / -13 18 'Herefords , ; ... .;.'., 14 ■■'■■■ 11J Vl2 Angus ::...!:.. ; ; 13 ■■ ".,■■'8. a ':■■'' Jersey ;...-: ..V...20 •32 y. i4v ; - Ayrshire ... .-...'.' ....'■5-a ■ VV : ; Dairy Cattle/ ... ... 15. 12 '-..18 < Fat Cattle.':' / :„.,.-.. ...17; 10: 14 V Other Cattle „/ ... .9': :,3 : ; ,v3.' ;/V ; ; Tofcals ;. ; ...'' ...;io8v :-'98," V89:/ 'Sheep.; , ;i , ':'■>■ ; / ■- ■■■■■ Xinculns ..'. ... ■. ...48. 35 '-'. 103; •. -'. Liecestew ... ... ;-y. ... 30'■: 27 9. '■.'/'.'•■/JJbinne.s; Marsh ...\ : v."..-"-v28'-":. : 28 v a: Shropshire. ; :.;. '■'... .:,.-.■.:• 3o;.' 18: 13 y Hampshire Downs V. ■— • 1 .• —" ! J South; Downs';;.., ; .w 1. ■.(•';1.' ■vi,: '■;'. ''-':i Half-breds '■'..;),-.::;... „. ,19; :;n 17 .J:/;-- Merinos ... ... - ■... l : - 8 10 Other Sheep ■:■„.. ... '.■; '■.'..'.,'18 '■ 12' 20 .V :FatSheep'V ... ',.v-:27> :;28-. 24 :''v;:^':v!^8/.'/-'.i-;' -.208: 169 .206 ' ::J/::-;rS:?lGk): : ;<C;'...,\\ ■■:■.;■■■■-■$:<. 12 :^ V ' ■ ; /Grand totals.,;'-' V;.. 535 447 .560: